Frequently Asked Questions

OLLI has two campus locations: in Ashland at the Campbell Center at 655 Frances Lane and in Medford at the RCC-SOU Higher Education Center (HEC) at 101 S. Bartlett Street. Click here for detailed directions and parking information for both locations.

The main OLLI office is at the Campbell Center in Ashland and can be visited in person during regular office hours (see below). The office phone number is 541-552-6048, and the email address is olli@sou.edu. See also: Contact Us page.

OLLI Annual Membership Dues are $125 per person for the entire academic year (three quarters), September to June. Dues cover as many courses as can be scheduled, depending on space available. The fee is not pro-rated for members joining OLLI mid-year.

Prospective OLLI members who are interested in joining or renewing their membership, but cannot afford to pay the full $125, can apply for a scholarship in exchange for performing some volunteer work for OLLI. Please visit the Scholarship Fund page for more information.

The OLLI program is geared to older adults with a flexible daytime schedule; however, consistent with SOU Nondiscrimination Policy, neither age, race, national origin, religion, sex, handicap or marital status are considerations with regard to OLLI membership.

Members have a period of time to submit course requests after the course catalog becomes available and before the published deadline for the computerized class assignment occurs. During this interval, the timing of when members submit course requests does not affect a member’s chances of being admitted to a class. All requests are processed at the same time on the day after the deadline. While there are many classes to choose from, demand for some classes exceeds the available space. See this guide to Getting the Courses You Want. [PDF]

Yes, OLLI hold an annual meeting prior to the end of each OLLI at SOU academic year. The purpose of this meeting is for Council to update members on current business and for members to bring matters to the Council. It is also an opportunity for members to convene. In addition, the Council may call special membership meetings as necessary. Click here for OLLI Bylaws governing member meetings.

Feedback about the OLLI at SOU program can be provided in many ways: by contacting the OLLI Program Manager, contacting an OLLI Council member (see OLLI Leadership page), attending a Council meeting (see Calendar), or by providing input via the Online Suggestion Box.

Many OLLI members have asked, since we currently have a $2 million endowment from the Osher Foundation, why should I consider donating to the OLLI Legacy Fund?

Well, here is the story:

Osher endowment distributions cover about half of our annual expenses. Member dues and donations to the Annual Fund make up the other half.

In order to protect our long term sustainability, fund any special projects/improvements, and any increases to staffing we would need to raise member dues, charge a per course fee, increase giving to the Annual Fund, and/or raise enough money in the Legacy Fund to increase interest earnings.

The Legacy Fund is critical to keeping OLLI’s membership fees low and the program rich and full in serving all our members.